Suspension on temporary visas extended until 2021

Back in August, we blogged about temporary visas being closed to offshore applicants for a period of three months. Each month, the government re-evaluates the situation, and Immigration New Zealand has just announced that the suspension of overseas applications for most temporary visas has been extended until February 2021.

A consequence of the border closure due to COVID-19, the decision to stop processing overseas applications for the time being was intended to help INZ get through their backlog while slowing its growth – particularly from applicants who aren’t eligible to enter the country anyway.

As when the measure was introduced on 10 August, the following offshore temporary entry-class visa applications are not affected by the suspension:

  • Relationship-based visas for partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents
  • Visas for diplomatic, consular, and official staff and accompanying dependents
  • Antarctic Traveller Visitor visas and Antarctic Work visas
  • Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) limited visas

As always, we will alert you of further developments as they unfold.

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